Shading the Sky
by sunxkiss
Summary: One-Shot. Slight AU. As the sky's hues changes, so will the emotions of four females. Inspired by the sixth ending song, Ryuusei. NejiTen, NaruHina, ShikaIno, SasuSaku.


**IMPORTANT! MUST READ:**

There are four pairings in this one-shot: NejiTenten, SasukeSakura, NarutoHinata, and InoShikamaru.

**You should read the introduction to understand this story. Don't worry, I will label every section. _This is made so you can read the intro and whatever pairings you want to read._**

**After the intro, the pairings will be divided with a divider line, and they are in this order as followed:**

**1.**Sasuke and Sakura, **2. **Ino and Shikamaru, **3. **Naruto and Hinata, **4. **Neji and Tenten.

Summary: One-shot. Inspired by the Naruto sixth ending song, Ryuusei, though not a songfic. NejiTen, InoShika, SasuSaku, NaruHina. Maybe OOC.

Diclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo**_INTRO_**oooooooooooooooooooooooo

_thoughts_

"speech"

NORMAL P.O.V.

_Ah, this is the life_. Ino and Hinata were playing with a cobalt beachball in the crystal waters. The two, along with Sakura and Tenten, were with their teams on a short vacation.

Today was their final day, and so, the girls decided to have fun at the beach. Ino's violet bathing suit glowed in the sun's light, as Hinata's navy blue tankini sparkled in the salt water. "Ino, a-are you s-sad that this vacation is ending so s-soon?" the female Hyuuga inquired, stumbling on a few words.

"Yeah. But, I'm glad we even got a _chance _to take a break." Ino sighed. " We'll be back with our training and perhaps have a few missions. We're going to be really busy." The blonde tossed the beachball to Hinata, while sky was turning into a dark shade of tangerine.

Meanwhile, Sakura was paddling in the beach water on top of her aqua marine coloured surfboard. Though it wasn't her first time surfing, she wasn't a professional at it either. She caught up with a wave and scrambled to her feet, keeping her balance.

Tenten, with her hair in two braids instead of two buns, was sitting on her lime green surfboard, legs dangling in the clear water. She saw her pink haired friend riding on a roll of water, attempting to get to shore. _You can make it._ Tenten knew Sakura was the dazzling one. She looked down at her wavering reflection in the ripples of the water.

"Tenten!" Sakura called out, flailing her arms around so she could grasp her friend's attention. The weapon specialist paddled on her board towards the Sasuke lover.

"You made it to shore," Tenten said with a smile.

"Yeah." Sakura tilted her head up towards the sky. " Hey, it's sunset. Should we go back to the resort where the guys are?" She was obviously thinking of a certain raven haired boy.

" You can if you'd like. I'm just going to stay here for a couple more minutes, you know, just for some extra freedom. Who knows what Gai-sensei will do tomorrow," Tenten replied, adjusting herself so she was lying down, stomach against the surfboard. She slightly shuddered at the thought of when Gai-sensei once gave them a really stupid mission. And by 'stupid', she meant moronic.

"Okay then. Come back in soon." Sakura held her surfboard up, her high ponytail swaying slightly. She picked up her light blue towel and jogged back to the resort. The jade-eyed ninja was getting a little chilly in her pink bikini, which Ino made her buy when they were out shopping. She adjusted the strings, from her swim wear, at her neck. The pink haired female placed her board outside, against the resort wall, and went inside.

In the meantime, Ino asked Hinata the same question Sakura asked Tenten. "Hinata," Ino said, holding the beachball firmly, " it's getting kind of cool in the water. Do you want to go inside?" she asked.

"I-if it's al-alright with you, I'll j-just stay out here," Hinata replied meekly.

" Okay," Ino said. The teal-eyed girl waved to the Hyuuga and headed back to the building. The blond dried her damp hair with a white towel. On her way to her room, she saw Sakura. "Back in already?"

" Yeah, it was getting a little cold out there, Ino-pig" the pink haired female replied.

"Well, see ya, large-forehead girl. " Ino said, walking past her.

* * *

1. SASUKE AND SAKURA

Sakura picked a newly washed white towel from the wooden table beside her and wrapped it around her waist. She tossed her used towel in the laundry basket beside the table. _What a vacation. Too bad it's going to be over so soon. _She rubbed her arms. _I might as well take a look around this place one last time._ Sakura went into the back of the building with her four-sizes-too-large sandals flopping around. She opened the door that was ahead of her.

A small breeze passed by her, though the sun was still glimmering. Let's get back inside! It's so freakin' cold out here! her inner self yelled out. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Oh, how this place always had the greenest grass here. Sakura noticed this the first day she set foot on the resort. It was calm and peaceful, yet the jade-eyed ninja knew that no one ever came to this section outside the back of the building for some odd reason.

Infront of the female were large trees which, she thought, were made for younger children since they had wooden swings and tire swings latched on to them. Though she was thirteen, and in half a year she would become fourteen, Sakura still had childish feelings within her.

She made way onto the tire swing, which used to be her favourite at the park, and soon her fingers were clutched tightly on the ropes. It swung back and forth, back and forth at a gentle pace. _Maybe I should be getting back to where my team is. _

But before the female could get off the tire, a shadow loomed on the grass. "Sasuke? Why are you here?"

" Kakashi-sensei told me to check up on you," he stated monotonously.

"Oh, of course," Sakura said, a hint of sadness on her face. _Why would Sasuke be worried about me?_

" Did you finish packing? We're going to leave first thing, tomorrow morning."

" I'm prepared," the female ninja replied.

Silence enveloped the two as Sakura bit down on her fingernail, which was a bad habit of hers. When Sasuke was just about to leave, thinking that he had better things to do besides standing around, the Cherry Blossom called out to him, in a soft and happy voice, " Do you want to sit with me?"

"I've got more important things to do," he replied coldly. _Like training._

Sakura knew.

" You know what? I'm so sick and tired of you! This is supposed to be a vacation! Fun! Stop being like, 'oh, I need to get my revenge', or like, 'I need to train', cause that's not going to get ya anywhere!" She said out harshly, making quotation marks with her fingers at the spoken quotes Sasuke usually said. Her inner self was starting to show, but she finished with the Uchiha yet. " You probably don't even know what 'fun', is, don't you? You don't even look at life the way you _should _look at it!"

Sakura's fingers were gripped around the ropes tightly, her head turned away at his firm gaze. Yeah, that's it! Pound it into him! her inner self cheered.

A moment later, the jade-eyed girl heard a light chuckle coming from her beloved. "What's so funny?" she demanded.

" You would do anything for me to sit with you. Just to _sit_. How amusing. And what do I get?" the raven-haired boy asked.

"Uh-um," the girl stuttered. Her awfully large sandals fell on to the luscious grass.

"Heh." The male ninja walked to her as she shuffled to the right so her childhood crush could have a place to sit. The sky was a violet-magenta hue at the minute. The two on the tire swing looked towards their separate ways. Both of their weights shifted so that the tire would swing back and forth, evenly, like a pendulum.

"Have you finished packing, Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

He nodded for a reply. "Then maybe...well, if you'd like...we could stay outside for the night and...talk?" she asked timidly. _Oh god, I'm starting to sound like Hinata. _"It would be fun." Sakura got off from the swing, leaving him on the tire. She tightened the towel that loosely hung around her waist. "So what about it? We could go grab some blankets."

The onyx-eyed male knew he couldn't reject her offer, or else the female ninja would go all ballistic again. Sasuke replied with a mere, "Sure." He stood up and strolled inside the building, along with Sakura, to help retrieve some blankets.

When they came back...

The two ninjas helped each other spread the soft cloth out. Sakura managed to snag a few snacks from Choji's room, when he wasn't in there. Once they were finished organizing, Sakura rested herself on the fluffy blanket. She sighed. _This must be a dream. Me, with Sasuke, out on a nice evening. Well, of course, I kinda persuaded him to come out with me... _She sighed, once again, with a smile on her delicate face.

"What are you so happy about?" the Uchiha asked, resting his back against the blanket.

"Mm...nothing," she said, with a hint of blush on her face.

Sasuke pondered. Why did half of the female population in Konoha adore him? He just didn't get it. He was cold, rough, rude, and just had a big ego.

"Tell me, Sakura." Her head faced at his direction with the sound of his voice. "Why do you...admire me, even if I give you the 'cold shoulder'?" he asked, gaze set on the sky above.

The female ninja did not hesitate when she replied quickly, "Because you are strong, handsome...," Sakura paused, and then added along, "...and you'll protect me whenever I'm in danger. And I _know_ that deep down, you are caring, warm-hearted and kind."

Sasuke looked at her in an odd way. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Wha!" Sakura asked.

"Thanks. You're the first person he said I was...kind. Not many people say that to a Uchiha, you know. They think that the Uchihas are cold-hearted. But, that's why...well, I guess females like that type of attitude."

"Oh..." the pink haired ninja trailed off, biting her fingernail. _But, Sasuke is sometimes cold..._

Not knowing what to say, Sakura opened a package of cookies and placed them beside Sasuke. "Hungry?" She asked, taking a cookie.

"A little," he answered. He took a cookie, that Choji would have eaten if it weren't for Sakura, and munched on it. The jade-eyed girl observed him, every bite he took, every time he swallowed. "What?" Sasuke asked, wondering why the female beside him was staring at him awkwardly for the last minute or so.

" This is... This is the first time you've actually opened up to me," she said, a smile on her face. "Have you ever been able to talk and express yourself to anyone before?"

He paused, and then answered, "Yeah, my mother." Flash backs and fragments of memories came flooding back into his mind. Sakura tilted her head and gave a worried look.

" Sasuke, are you alright?" she asked.

The raven haired boy nodded as he shook these thoughts away. "I'm fine." The female ninja suddenly remembered the photo frame that the Uchiha once left out before.

" You mother...I remember...she was beautiful," Sakura said. "Really, she was."

"Yeah." It was funny, Sasuke thought. Only Sakura could make him fully bloom when she was in his presence. " How do you do it?"

The pink haired girl slightly raised an eyebrow. "Huh? How do I do what?"

"You know...it's just, you can make anyone open up to you," he said. Sasuke had his arms stretched out on the blanket. " It's an amazing gift."

Sakura's jade eyes were a little widely opened in shock. Did Sasuke just compliment her? " Well," she started, "I'm just naturally, you know, expressive when it comes to talking. I just speak my mind." Sakura shrugged.

"Oh." Sasuke took another bite out of his cookie. _I can't believe I'm being so nice...especially to a girl. _I light breeze came between the two as Sakura, again, bit her fingernail.

Come on, make a move! The female ninja disobeyed her inner self. She was afraid that she would get her heart crushed. While battling with her secret self, Sasuke was finishing up his cookie. That's it!

Sakura's inner self took over, and without hesitating, placed her hand over on top of her lover's. Sasuke immediately reacted to the sign of affection Sakura just gave him. The Uchiha turned his head to look at the Cherry Blossom and saw her face tilted downwards with an adorable smile plastered on her face. _Look what you have done now! Sasuke is going to hate me for this! _Sakura may have looked cute and cuddly on the outside, but on the inside, she was silently screaming at her inner self.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was touched. But...not that touched. "Sakura...Do you like...no love me for who I am?" he asked.

She nodded. Even though the jade-eyed ninja knew how sinful her crush was, how emotionless he acted, she still loved him with all of her heart, and that flame of cherishing would never disappear. She intertwined her own fingers with his. " I'll never give up on you. No matter what wrongs you do, I will always love you." Sasuke's dark eyes softened at her words. " I know that sounds cheesy," she paused for a giggle, "but, really, that's how I feel about you!"

He wrapped his other arm around her shoulder pulling Sakura closer to him. Sasuke knew that he wasn't alone. Of course, Sakura was always by his side. But, now, he knows that she'll be by his side...forever. The raven haired ninja kissed her cheek lightly and rested his chin on her soft pink hair. The female returned his feelings by tacking him to the ground with an overwhelming hug that caused the Uchiha to chuckle.

* * *

2. INO AND SHIKAMARU

Meanwhile in the building...

A genius was on his bed looking at the sky. "Shikamaru!" called a female's voice.

_Oh no, it's Ino. Who knows what she's going to make me do... _The lazy ninja quickly lied down on his clean bed. He started snoring.

The blond barged into his room. "Shikamaru, do ya know where my yellow hair brush is?" Ino looked around the room, and her eyes made its way to a sleeping Shikamaru. Of course, she knew him _too_ well. He would pretend to sleep whenever someone commanded him to do something "troublesome". She stomped up to the genius, irritated. "SHIKAMARU! Wake up ya lazy butt!" Shaking him by the shoulders, the teal-eyed ninja didn't notice Choji walking by.

_That's their way of flirting. _He popped a chip in his mouth, shrugged, and headed towards the food bar.

"Fine. I'm going to stay here until ya finish your little trick," Ino said, sitting on a chair next to his bed with her slender arms crossed. The female ninja had a so-called "brilliant" plan and also pretended to fall asleep.

Obviously, Shikamaru knew that Ino was faking. He was too smart for her. But, long enough, Ino's head tilted to one side and started...SNORING!

_Ino snores? Who ever thought a pretty girl like her even snores! Pretty? Okay I didn't say that...but she still snores! Wait until I tell her! _Shikamaru sat up and started mumbling until Ino swiftly pounced on the poor little guy. A sly smile was on her face.

"Shikamaru, you good-for-nothing ninja! Ya can't even help your friend and teammate find her belongings!" The lazy male just darted his eyes towards another direction without a reply to Ino's outburst. "Hello?" She waved her hand in front of his eyes.

"Do I have to?" he mumbled.

"Yes! Now come and help me!" She exclaimed, dragging his lazy body off the bed.

"Women," he muttered quietly, but audible enough for his teammate to hear.

"Hmph."

"Can we please go back? This is too troublesome," the chuunin said while being dragged down a hallway.

"Sure," the blond said sweetly, "after we find my hair brush." Shikamaru sighed. Once they reached her room, Ino let go of his collar. "Now, help me look." The male ninja paid no attention to what the female was saying and just leaned against the wall. On the other hand, Ino was looking all over the place. Under the bed, in the closet, on top of the night table, but her brush was just not seen anywhere.

It was only when Shikamaru gave an extremely loud sigh, Ino had just realized he wasn't helping her out at all. "Shikamaru!" The brown-eyed ninja shook his head and looked up to see a growling blond.

_I swear, I just saw steam come out of her ears. _"Okay, just wait a second," Shikamaru said.

"No I will not wait a second, Shika"

"Is this it?" the lazy male interrupted, holding up a sparkly yellow hairbrush. Ino quickly swiped the brush out of his hand.

She gasped. "Where did you find it?" she asked happily, brushing her long, blond hair. Shikamaru patted the hardwood floor beside him. "Oh, heh heh. Well then, you can go back to what you were doing in your own little room." She put the brush in her suitcase while trying to hide her blush of embarrassment.

"You haven't finished packing yet?" The smart ninja questioned.

"No. I know, I'm procrastinating," the blond answered "but, I'm almost finished. Hey, could you pass me my make-up bag on the desk over there?"

The lazy male tossed the small orange bag to Ino, and she barely caught it. " I said pass, not throw." She packed the item into her suitcase. "By the way, where's Choji?" she inquired.

"Probably at the food bar," he said, "he told me that someone took his cookies." Ino firmly pressed down on her suitcase and zipped it up.

"Well, that's the last of it. What do ya want to do now?" Shikamaru was already one step ahead of her and lying on her neatly made bed, looking out the window to the hues of the sky. He was in deep thought at the moment.

" What's so interesting 'bout the sky?" Ino questioned.

"It's not troublesome to look at," He replied.

The female sighed. _That is so Shikamaru-like. _

The colour of above was now a dark plum. The teal-eyed girl plopped down on the bed beside Shikamaru, back against the blanket. Her arms were folded across her chest.

A few seconds passed.

"This is getting boring," Ino said, giving off a yawn.

"I never said it was _that _fun, I think it's interesting," the lazy ninja commented. The two stayed in silence for quite some time. The blond, getting tired by the second, yawned again.

"This vacation...it's been really fun," she stated. Ino stretched her arms, exhausted and sleepy. _Wow...looking at the sky makes you really drowsy. _

On the contrary, Shikamaru had his eyes glued to the heavens. He didn't notice her fall asleep.

_Ino's Flashback Dream..._

"_Oi! Ino," an eight year old Sakura called out. "Over here!" She said, waving her hands around. Ino happily skipped towards her pink-haired friend. _

"_Sakura, what is it?"_

"_Is this okay?" the jade-eyed girl asked, holding out some arranged flowers. The young blond squinted closely at the plants she held out._

" _Pink and red don't go together that well. Instead of red, you should use a light pastel colour like baby blue or light yellow," she explained._

"_Oh, okay!" Sakura said cheerfully. "Thanks Ino!" Sakura then ran back to a large patch of flowers near by and started looking. _

_Ino sighed. "Sakura is leaning so fast. It took me forever for mom to teach me how to arrange flowers." Her eyes wandered to a young Shikamaru lying on a hill, looking at the clouds. _

_It was her second day at the academy. Her teacher explained to the girls of the class how to arrange flowers, and told the boys of the class to play soccer. Since Ino's family owned a flower shop, she was experienced. _

_The males of the class were running trying to get the soccer ball, while Shikamaru was too lazy to do anything. His hands were supported behind his head, which was rested on the soft green grass. "Looks kind of cute," Ino said quietly to herself with a smile on her ivory coloured face._

_Shikamaru was the smartest kid in her class. He knew absolutely everything. The only thing he wasn't able to do was to act more social. The small blond decided to introduce herself to the genius. _

"_Hey there! I'm Ino! What's your name?" she asked happily._

"_Shikamaru," he said lazily while his gaze was firmly set on the clouds. The young girl sat down beside Shikamaru, hoping to get some more words out of his mouth. _

" _That would be fun," Ino mumbled._

" _Did you say something?" Shikamaru asked. Ino nodded._

" _In the cloud up there," she started, pointing to the specific cloud, "I would be dancing at the ball."_

"_A ball? Dancing?" he asked._

" _Yeah. You know, where you do fun stuff and all," the blond said._

" _I know what a ball is, but in the cloud you were pointing to, it looked like you were at the chuunin exams."_

" _The chuunin exams? I don't know if I could surpass the rank of a genin..."Ino trailed off. She'd always wonder about being a great ninja._

" _Chuunin exams are hard. I might not even pass. Heck, we even have an exam to become a genin!"_

" _You'll pass for sure. You're the smartest person in our class!" Ino complimented._

"_Thanks, but I'm probably too lazy to pass this exam." Sakura and Hinata were chatting with flowers in their hair; Tenten was on the soccer field competing against a bunch of boys. _

"_Come on! Let's play some soccer!" _

_Shikamaru shook his head._

" _Jeez, you are lazy!" Ino, with her energy, pulled Shikamaru up, off of the ground._

" _Hey! Wha-" Shikamaru was dragged along the grass by the blond. It looked so cute how Ino and Shikamaru's hands were linked together. It was in an awkward position, but definitely adorable, nonetheless. The young female reached the soccer field and then let go of his hand. _

" _Tenten!" Ino screamed out, waving her hand. Young Tenten stopped, waving back to her. Suddenly, the soccer ball came flying out of no where, hitting the poor brunette on the head. Ino gasped, her hand on her mouth. _

_Tenten got up, " What the heck was that for, you jerk?" she shouted, tackling him to the ground. _

_She added, " By the way Ino, you and your **boyfriend** look cute together." Tenten then resumed back to her tackling._

" _Boyfriend?" Ino asked herself, befuddled. She looked down and realized that Tenten was referring to Shikamaru as her 'boyfriend'. Unexpectedly, the same soccer ball that hit Tenten, came hurling through the air...crashing into the poor, young Shikamaru._

" _Oh my gosh, Shikamaru, are you okay?" Ino asked worriedly. She shook him by the shoulders._

" _My head..." the genius drowsily said. A group of their classmates slowly formed around the two. Murmurs and whispers could be heard everywhere._

" _Shall I g-go get the t-teacher?" Hinata asked. Ino nodded frantically, supporting the poor male. _

_A couple hours passed; Ino was in class. She couldn't stop thinking if Shikamaru was okay. After school, she ran to the nurse's office to see if the lazy kid was doing alright. _

"_Shikamaru, are you doing well?" she inquired._

" _Yea, I'm fine," he replied lazily. She saw him holding a pack of ice to his head. Ino dropped her backpack onto the ground and sat beside him. She gave him a childish hug._

" _I'm glad," she said with a smile. On that day, Ino made a new friend._

Shikamaru finally noticed the sleeping Ino nearby him. He smiled, and at that exact same moment, Ino cuddled closer to him, her arm looped around his own; his body closer to hers.

_How troublesome.

* * *

_

3. NARUTO AND HINATA

Hinata was outside with the cobalt beach ball in her arms. She trotted back to the sand on shore. Above her, was the sky coloured in a royal blue, lilac-ish shade. She looked to the right side of her; Tenten was lying on her surfboard, relaxing. _Maybe I should go back inside._ No one was out here, except for the weapon master, and it was getting pretty cold.

She grabbed the towel beside her and wrapped it around her fragile frame. _There, nice and warm. _Hinata was the most childish out of herself, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten. But even though she acted like a kid, she was still young enough to 'love'.

After some time since the chuunin exams, her flame for Naruto became brighter and brighter. It was just...Naruto was too stubborn to figure that out. Everyone else knew, but Naruto, he wasn't 'mature' enough to understand these things. Sakura and Ino, of course, attempted to set them up, but somehow, it was hard to get the strong male ninja to agree.

The Hyuuga sighed. How in the world would she get Naruto to acknowledge her? She let her beach ball roll on the sand. By the waves were a variety of seashells. The dark haired female picked one up. Holding it to her ear, she heard echoing waves.

It was a little quiet for Hinata to hear, then, the sound grew louder and louder. After, she could hear sloshing noises.

_Wait a second...Are shells supposed to make that noise? _She took the shell away from her ear; still, she heard he same sound.

" Byakugan," she whispered ever-so-quietly. Behind her was...Naruto? _Oh my gosh, why is he here? What am I going to do? What should I do?_

"Hi Hinata!" Naruto said in his usual cheery voice.

"H-hello Naruto," she greeted back. What would Naruto want with her? Hinata started shivering like crazy. She was so nervous.

" I think there's a misunderstanding. That towel," Naruto pointed to the blue cloth wrapped around her body, "you have is mine."

" I t-think this is mine. I b-brought it out when I w-was with Ino," she explained feeling fidgety.

" Well, I guess we have the same one," Naruto stated, sitting on the sand beside her. The pearl-eyed female started feeling extremely warm.

Naruto held up a part of the towel (that was near her shaking arm) and showed her. " You see, my name is stitched onto the towel."

Hinata squinted and saw his name, in orange thread, on the fuzzy blue towel. " Oh, heh...I'm v-very sorry." Heat rose to her cheeks, and she couldn't stop it. _This is so embarrassing. _She quickly gave the towel back to her crush while trying to hide her face.

Naruto noticed her trembling, and gave the towel back to her. " Here, you can use it for now. You look really cold!" He exclaimed.

"Oh...t-thank you," she stuttered.

" No problem-o!" Naruto spotted a small crab make its way up to the two. " Look!" Naruto, being as stubborn as he is, picked up the crab.

" Um...I d-don't think you sh-should do that..." Hinata said.

"Aw, c'mon! Doesn't it look cute?" He held the creature up close to her pale face.

"Eek!" She waved her hands in front of her face. The beady black eyes of the so-called 'cute' crab scared the heck out of her. _Shino's bugs..._" Naruto, you should b-be careful with that...t-that crab," she said.

" Don't worry. I've handled snakes before, what harm could a crab possibly— OW!" Before the two could do anything, the small crab had pinched him on the thumb; Naruto had already hurled the poor creature back in the waters.

The cerulean-eyed male sucked on his thumb. " Ow, who knew that a puny crab like that could cause so much pain and suffering."

Hinata sweatdropped. _Is he exaggerating? _" I h-have my m-medicine, if you n-need any," she stated quietly.

" It might work," Naruto said. The pearl-eyed ninja had her beach bag beside her. She opened it and peered inside; Hinata got a large container out. She handed the tub to him. " Thanks Hinata! I hope this'll do..."

The blonde twisted the lid opened and dipped his finger in the white creamy substance. He rubbed it on his thumb and sighed. " Ah, this gives off a cool, refreshing feeling! You're really smart if you made this Hinata!"

She blushed at the compliment. " It's s-starting to get b-better?"

Naruto nodded. "Thanks to you! You're too generous, you know?" The Hyuuga was overwhelmed by the kindness he had sent her. "Aa, I got a great idea! Let's go eat ramen, my treat! It's the least I can do for you."

Hinata flushed, " R-really? That's too much Naruto." Without hesitation, Naruto grabbed her hand, pulled her up and ran towards the resort. The female ninja stumbled while holding on tightly to the towel and her beach bag while gripping his hand.

" C'mon Hinata, quicker! I can just taste the ramen right now..."

" I c-can't run as f-fast as you," she told him.

" Of course you can't...I'm the best!" he shouted, pumping his free fist into the air. Hinata giggled. This is what she loved about Naruto. He was confident, funny, had self-esteem, and other qualities that were great. The hyper male and the Hyuuga finally arrived at the building and entered. They were going to the food bar; along the way, Hinata would pinch herself often to make sure this wasn't a dream.

" Choji's here too!" Naruto said cheerfully. Naruto got up onto a high stool and leaned his elbows against the counter. Hinata hoisted herself up as well. " Six miso ramen please!" he called out as the chef was walking towards them. " Oh yeah, Hinata what do you want?" he asked.

"Just one miso ramen," the white eyed female replied.

" Make that seven!" Naruto exclaimed. The chef had stared at Hinata, then at Naruto, and finally back to Hinata.

" Coming right up," the chef announced. Hinata placed the towel on her lap and the beach bag on the counter.

" Oh no! I f-forgot my b-beach ball," she said.

" Don't worry, we can go back and get it after! Besides, have you had supper yet?" Naruto questioned.

" N-no..."

" Then don't worry. You need to take care of your stomach first!" Hinata smiled. Naruto...food is always first.

The Hyuuga twiddled her fingers, unknown of what words to say. " Hinata, you like ramen as well?" the blonde ninja asked.

She nodded. " Very much, Naruto," she answered back.

Naruto's eyes widened. " I've got another ramen lover with me here!" He shouted, holding up Hinata's delicate hand.

" Naruto, we can hear you perfectly fine when you talk," Choji said, eating his chips.

" Here's your order," the chef said, placing the bowls of ramen in front of them. When he gave Naruto his order, he whispered, "Don't let that one go. She's a keeper!" The man smiled and went back into the kitchen.

"Eh?" Naruto was befuddled. He shrugged and started to chow down. Hinata was also eating happily.

_I haven't had ramen this delicious in a long time. _Hinata finished her bowl quickly and wiped her mouth with a napkin. " Thank you, Naruto, for bringing me here."

The male ninja's eyes widened. " Oh my gosh... That's the first sentence you've said to me without stuttering!"

Hinata realized this as well. "Oh my goodness." She paused. " It is."

" You know, you sound much better when you don't stumble on what you're saying," Naruto commented.

" I ... should try this more often..." she trailed off. Naruto finished his fifth bowl and was now on his sixth (and last). The Hyuuga looked at a joyful Naruto. _He always looks so happy. _Hanging out with Naruto made her more confident.

_Hinata's always so nice. I wonder how come not a lot of people talk to her..._ Naruto placed his wooden chopsticks on the empty bowl. _She's a great friend to go and eat ramen with! _"That was so good," Naruto exclaimed, wiping his mouth. He placed the bills and coins that the meal was worth on the counter. The male ninja looked at his thumb; the swelling had gone away.

" Is it healed?" Hinata asked him since she noticed Naruto look at his thumb.

" Yup. It's alright now." The chef collected their used ramen bowls.

" Would you like anything else tonight?" the chef asked.

" I'm q-quite a-alright," Hinata said, back to her usual stuttering.

" I'm full too," Naruto agreed. The chef nodded and strolled back into the kitchen.

Then, the moment that changed Hinata's whole life occurred. It all happened too fast. Something unusual, that was fluffy and furry, brushed against the Hyuuga's leg. She shrieked loudly, causing drawn attention. She lost her balance on the high stool and began toppling off. Hinata, not wanting to fall on the hard ground grabbed the closest thing to her for support: Naruto's orange sleeve.

" Ay!" Naruto cried out. With gravity pulling her down, the female ninja dragged Naruto down to the ground with her, which sent the two, plummeting down to the hardwood floor.

Falling was a problem, but landing was another. The two were set down...in an awkward position. Hinata was on top of Naruto, thanking god that she didn't land on the rough floor. She was curled up, still afraid that something else horrible would happen. The blonde, however, was dazed and clutching Hinata's arm. The pearl eyed girl was still gripping Naruto's sweater. " You alright?" he asked the female.

" Yes, I think so..." she replied trailing off. The male ninja sat up, straight, aiding Hinata as well.

The moment seemed perfect. Hinata, sitting on the lap of her lover. Unfortunately, Hinata did a very un-Hinata likely thing: kissing Naruto.

She couldn't contain herself! How could a shy girl like her ever resist her crush? Hinata slammed her lips to Naruto's, scaring the heck out of him. He didn't react, too shocked to actually.

When Hinata pulled away from him, all Naruto could say was, "Wow..."

" I'm so sorry Naruto. I didn't mean to, really! It's just that" Naruto cut her off by lifting her off of the ground. " Naruto! What are you doing?" she asked.

" Hinata! You have just made me realized...how much I care for you!" He shouted.

" Really!" she asked. " But, what have I done?"

" So much that I can't even tell you!"

The strong male swung her around, causing the Hyuuga to go all happy. Once again, Hinata pulled herself close to Naruto, giving him a full-blown kiss.

Not far away, Kiba was looking for Akamaru who had run off into the food bar section.

* * *

4. TENTEN AND NEJI

_It's getting too dark; I better go inside. _Tenten was in the water still and was paddling back to shore on her surfboard. Looking at the deep midnight shade that had washed over the sky, she propped up her surfboard on a nearby palm tree.

Little did she now, the Hyuuga prodigy was watching her. He was coming out of the building, for Gai-sensei and Lee were chatting uncontrollably. Too uncontrollably for his liking at least. He saw his teammate swing her upper body down to pick up her black sandals. Oh, how graceful she was. Neji admired her poise.

Tenten skipped to the palm tree and dropped her sandals on to the ground. _I'm so tired. I think I'll just take a short nap here. _And so she did. The black haired female put her white towel against the other side of the palm tree and leaned her almost-bare back against it. Long enough, Tenten was in a deep slumber.

The Hyuuga sighed, for he was going to ask her to spar with him. He needed to train. Ever since they arrived at the resort, he hadn't broken a sweat. But, actually, Hyuuga Neji had never broken a sweat when training. He trudged over to the weapon mistress, hoping that he wouldn't have to wake her up physically. Maybe she would awaken by the shifting of his feet. With a half moon out, Neji could see a portion of her face illuminated by white light.

The pale eyed male thought of Tenten as a worthy teammate. Well, at least better than the rest of the girls in Konoha. She didn't care what people thought of her; she only wanted to be stronger, maybe even stronger than himself.

Neji smirked at that thought. Of course, no one could beat him.

Tenten's hair was in two messily done braids with some foolish strands hanging out. Her features...they were only noticeable up close. The dark haired male didn't care about looks, as long as the person was powerful, than he would acknowledge them.

" Why am I wasting my time out here?" he muttered to himself. Neji shoved his rough hands in his pockets and walked off.

On the other hand, Tenten was awake. The shifting that the Hyuuga made did work...he just didn't seem to note that fact. Quietly, Tenten got up from her state and tip toed toward the joyless ninja. Obviously, the Hyuuga prodigy could hear _and _see her.

" What do you want?" he mumbled.

Tenten, whose eye was twitching madly, answered, " Well, did you want to talk to me? I mean you were going to ask me to spar with you."

_Oh, so she did hear what I said. _Neji, acting stony, stated, " Yes, but seeing that you have to get your 'beauty sleep', I just left you alone."

Tenten's eye twitched even more. " Oh, so I guess your feet have some sort of disease that can magically create destructive noise. And by the way, I don't do 'beauty sleeps'. You should know me better than that," she said irritated. He disturbed her...no one disturbs Tenten. She picked up a handful of wet, tan sand and chucked it at him.

As expected, Tenten's throw hit Neji in the proper spot: the face. The brown eyed female had a smirk of triumph. _But wait a second...Neji could've blocked that easily. This means..._ " Uh oh," she said innocently.

" Uh oh is right," Neji said, wiping the sand off his face. " This means war." Hyuugas weren't usually the type who would have fun, but whenever there was competition, they would be ready to roll. " Let's just say this is our training for today."

Tenten got in a ready stance with enough ammo in hand. Neji was the same with his Byakugan activated. " Rules: There are no rules. Last one standing is the winner," the female said slyly.

" Fine with me," the male ninja replied. And so, they began. Tenten would attack repeatedly, but her assaults would always be blocked. Sand was in her fingernails; that distraction didn't bother her.

_I have to think smarter. _Tenten's face then lit up. " Bushin no jutsu!" she cried out. Seven clones, that included her, appeared. Naturally, Neji knew which ones were the fakes.

But wait! Three were behind him and three were on the right of him. Where was the other one?

And then he saw it. Coming up right on top of him. He could feel some sand sprinkling on top of his head due to Tenten's loose grip on the sand. The prodigy hit all the clones with his ammo; they disappeared. Of course, Neji could easily hit the real Tenten above him. What he didn't know was that Tenten understood his weakness.

With all her might, she hurled the "sandball" down towards him. The Hyuuga swiped the sand away, but while he was preoccupied with that, Tenten called out "Bushin no jutsu," once again. With her great speed, her clone had snatched up sand from the ground and grabbed Neji's collar. She shoved the sand down his beige cotton shirt, which she realized was very soft, just in time before he hit the clone.

But due to female's knowledge, Neji had already lost. Seconds later, he was scratching his back like a monkey.

Yes, the Hyuuga prodigy was ticklish. Although he never showed it, he would laugh inwardly. " Argh, dammit!" Tenten giggled. Ah, yes, she wasn't just a girl who could hit her targets. She knew how to torture certain people...physically and mentally.

Neji, on the other hand, was having a battle between himself and the sand. _Ugh, this reminds me so much of Gaara. _"How the hell did you know"

"Any idiot could tell," the weapon mistress said. " Whenever we see Kiba and Akamaru, you just walk away because you're scared that Akamaru's fluffy fur will tickle you. Whenever we're on a mission with Shino, you regularly stand at the back because you're afraid that his bugs will crawl up you leg," she explained.

_Who knew that she analyzes everything. _" Psh, that'll never happen again," he stated icily.

" Right...I think that victory is mine today," she said proudly.

"Not a chance," Neji said. In less than a nanosecond, he struck her with a "sandball" of his own. _Hyuugas never fail. _

"Jeez, you're not a very good sport," Tenten said, brushing the sand off her arm. She went to go retrieve her towel by the palm tree, but as she went by him, she tripped. The brown eyed girl quickly regained her balance.

_So much for graceful. _Grabbing the cloth, sandals and the surfboard, she walked passed him, trying to show that she was not embarrassed. Unfortunately, she stubbed her toe on a shell, causing the surfboard to swing the opposite way...hitting Neji's back.

" Oof," he muttered. He, the perfect genin, fell, due to the impact of the board. Tenten's toe was aching; she tumbled to the ground. The female ninja, making sure that she wouldn't get hurt, used her surfboard as protection.

Instead of landing on Hyuuga Neji, the board went down onto him first. Boy, was she going to get it. " My ribs..." the pearl eyed male said agonizingly. Neji was literally squished. With the surfboard on top of him, as well as Tenten, he had no choice but to stay down.

" Oh my, I'm so sorry." The black haired female crawled onto the ground beside him. Neji pushed the board of his body. She helped him sit up.

" Oh great Hokage, what was that for?" he asked, clutching his stomach. Tenten could tell that he was mad.

" I just kinda tripped," she said simply, playing with his long hair. Her fingers were gentle and were twisting his hair around them.

As minutes passed by, Tenten was getting colder and started shivering. She grabbed her towel and draped it around her shoulders, for she was only in her two-piece black swim wear.

The female did have the tiniest little crush on Neji since their team was ever announced. She liked him because he was different. She knew that he could be nice...at least some of the time. But, for most of the time, he _was _a cold bastard.

The tides were coming closer to then peaceful two; Beach water came and went as they touched the weapon mistress's delicate toes. Neji didn't seem to mind as Tenten kept on fiddling with his hair. " Tenten, it's dark. Shall we go inside?" he asked.

She sighed. " It's to soon to deal with Gai-sensei and Lee right now," she complained. She scratched her cheek; her hair was getting to messy to handle with. The dark-haired girl untied the ribbons that held her left braid in place. Rich, black hair swirled out. Though Tenten didn't like her hair, Neji thought if she fixed it, she would actually look more "girly".

Neji had been the only person, outside of her family, who had seen her with her hair completely down. He watched Tenten as she braided her hair back to normal. She then went to the right braid and adjusted it. Just when she was in the middle of fixing her hair, the wind blew her cotton towel right off her shoulders.

" Ack!" Her bare shoulders were now chilly. Letting go of her hair, she stood up, trying to snag the cloth.

Catching it, Tenten placed it back onto her shoulders. She noticed the Hyuuga's white eyes fixed on her. "What?" she asked dumbly.

"Nothing, nothing," he mumbled. Tenten stared at him as if he was brainless.

" You actually think I'm going to fall for that?" she asked. _Just like I fell for you?_

Regrettably, the female with half a head braided had recognized seconds later that she had said her thoughts out loud.

"Whoops, I guess that slipped out," she said sheepishly. The dark haired girl lingered there for a moment, thinking about ways to calm down the male when he was going to get angry. To her surprise, Neji stood up, stormless, with eyes lowered.

Yep, there was no outburst, no attacking, and no rolling eyes. " Neji, are you...outraged with me?" she asked, hoping to receive a non-violent related answer.

The Hyuuga didn't reply. Tenten, too anxious to talk, let her actions take over.

She dashed to the white eyed ninja, tackling him to the ground.

Pressing her tender lips against his own with full passion and desire, Tenten wondered what the consequence would be when she was finished. Neji was unaware at what was happening at the moment. Her body was crushing his, making it even worse for his stomach. " Tenten," he said calmly. She withdrew herself from him.

" I'm sorry. I was acting too"

" You're hurting my ribs," he said flatly. She abruptly got off of his body.

" Oh...heh heh, sorry about that too," she said, eyes looking at the ground. Neji gazed at her. For a girl who he thought had no 'love life', she was pretty courageous to have kissed him. He stroked his fingers through the hair on the right side since the left side was braided.

She grabbed his smooth hand with her own. " Neji, you don't have to do this just because"

" No. Tenten, it's time I started treating you as something more than a teammate," he said softly.

_The Hyuuga speaking softly? That is a change! _She cuddled up to his chest, claiming warmth from him. It was now his turn to play with her silky hair.

" Hey Tenten, how do you braid?"

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Well, that's the end! Please tell me what couple you liked the best in here. That way, I can improve on my other ones. Thankyou for reading!

By the way, you should go listen to the song, Ryuusei by TiA.


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